Life's Expectations
by HaleyD95
Summary: This story starts in Volterra in New Moon. What would happen if Bella wasn't as charmed by Alice's return and Edward's "act of love"? What if she was meant for another, someone with an old and kind soul hidden in anguish? Rated M for language and situations.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**A/N** – This is one of the first stories that I have written and posted, so I am hoping that everyone likes it. Please review this chapter after you have read it so that I can further improve upon my writing. All types of comments are welcomed. All thoughts are in italics.

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><p><span>Bella's POV<span>

_God I wish I had a towel right now so that I could dry off. I am freezing my ass off right now,_ I think as I am walking through the Volturi's underground tunnel with Edward, being 'escorted' by 3 vampires from the Volturi. My body is shaking with cold from having to run through the fountain in order to get to Edward in time to stop him from revealing himself in his stupidity, and from killing himself. Now, I am stuck walking next to Edward, surrounded by the three Volturi guards, as we are 'escorted' to the throne room so that we can face the Volturi kings.

_God Edward, look at what your childish idiocy has gotten us into now. Is it really so hard for a 100 year old vampire to think before acting? He mind as well be 10 and not 100,_ are the thoughts that are going through my mind. I have never before wished to be able to hit Edward without seriously injuring myself on his marble hard skin as I do at this particular moment. All I wanted to do was smack some sense into him. If he hadn't of acted so impulsively, then he would have realized that I wasn't dead and I wouldn't have had to come and save his sorry ass and I wouldn't be stuck in this situation. I easily realized when the Volturi guard first showed up in the alley that I was not going to be able to leave Volterra with my heart still pumping blood through my veins. I was either going to have to be changed into a vampire or I would be killed for my knowledge of their existence. Knowing this, I quickly made a decision to do whatever I could to live through this, in a manner of speaking. _No doubt Edward is going to throw a fit about me being changed into a vampire._ I thought as I mentally rolled my eyes. _It's a good thing that I don't care what he thinks about me anymore, because he isn't going to stop me from getting through this. Oh crap! I am going to have to make sure he doesn't act like a complete idiot and end up getting us both killed while we are speaking with the Volturi kings! _I realize with dread. I don't know how I am going to stop that idiotic boy from screwing it all up.

I began to make plans to get the Volturi kings to let me be turned, when I suddenly I noticed something missing. I looked around a little bit before realizing that Alive was nowhere to be seen. _Why isn't she here? Surely the Volturi guards would have seen her…wait, she must have never followed me when I ran across the palazzo!_ _What the hell! She brings me here to save her moron of a brother and then leaves as soon as things get dangerous! That pixie _bitch_!_ I quickly realized that she had run away as soon as trouble showed up, and grew furious with her and her selfishness. As we continued walking, I made sure to keep my face impassive, even though on the inside I was fuming. I didn't want to mess with our odds of living through this experience, and acting out because Alice was a backstabbing traitorous bitch, would get me nowhere right now.

As we continued through the tunnel, I quickly got fed up with walking so slowly, freezing and soaking wet, down a tunnel that could very well be several miles long. I look at the small female vampire (_I think they called her Jane when we were in the alley_) that is walking in front of us, and notice that she seems to be getting frustrated with this slow pace we were walking as well. With every step she takes, she seems to have to catch herself from moving too fast. Most people wouldn't notice this, especially because it was all happening in a split second, but I somehow managed to see it. Using this information (and the assumption that the Volturi kings aren't infinitely patient), I quickly made a plan to solve two of my current problems, and made sure to act before Edward did something that would make this worse for us.

"May I ask how much longer it is going to take for us to reach the throne room if we continue to walk at this pace?" I ask politely. I know that I have to be careful and play my cards right if I want to get out of here alive (or undead at least). Edward turns to look at me with a look on his face that says: _What in the world are you doing? Are you trying to get us killed?_ I just ignored him and continued to look straight at Jane, making sure to keep my face impassive. She stopped walking and is now facing us. She stood there with an irritated look on her face, glaring at me for speaking.

"Thanks to you, human, it will take us approximately 1 hour to get out of this passageway and into the throne room," she said still glaring murderously at me. _Oh god, an hour is way too long for me to walk in these conditions. How am I supposed to try and talk my way out of this situation if my nose is running and I constantly shivering? I'll just look pathetic and it definitely won't help my case. Hopefully she wants to speed this up as much as I do._

"If that is the case, why doesn't Edward just carry me? That way everyone can run at your speed instead of being stuck walking through these tunnels for an hour," I propose even though I know that she is not going to agree with my suggestion.

"Not going to happen human. I'm not going to help you and Edward in an escape attempt," Jane sneers.

"I was, in no way trying to escape. I was just trying to speed this all up. However, if that is what you believe I was trying to do, why doesn't someone else carry me? I, in no way, want to keep the kings waiting," I say trying to reason with her. I was fairly confident that she would accept my counter offer. As I say this Jane tilts her head to the side a little, as if in confusion.

"You seem eager to meet your death, human. Why is that?" she asks, curiosity filling her voice.

"I am not eager to meet my death, in fact I quite dread it. However, I do not believe making the kings wait an hour just because we are walking at a human pace because of me would help to end my situation in my favor. Besides, I am soaking wet and freezing cold because of the water from the fountain that I ran through trying to prevent this situation in the first place. If we run at vampire speed, then I will be able to dry off somewhat and then I can begin to warm up. I do not fancy getting sick from the state that my body is in right now," I stated.

"You really don't fear our kind, do you?" she said incredulously.

"Fear? No. However, I do have a healthy respect for what your kind can do. I know that you can easily kill me before I even realized what had happened, but I see no reason to remain in constant fear of something that may or may not happen. It would be the same thing as me being constantly afraid that a random stranger on the street is going to shoot me. While there is a chance that it will happen, there is also a chance that it will not, and dwelling on what could happen would do nothing but ruin my life, something I have no inclination to do." As I said this, she seemed to be a little shocked at what I was saying.

"You speak with the wisdom of one decades older than yourself. It is a very rare occurrence amongst you humans. Even some of the oldest amongst your race are not able to think as you do."

"I have always been told that I have an old soul," I said with a simple smile and a small chuckle. "Now why don't we get back to the matter at hand?" Jane stared at me for a few seconds, as if studying me, before speaking again.

"Very well. Felix will carry you as we run. I do not wish to keep the masters waiting any longer. Let us continue," Jane said, finishing with finality and turning around again. A split second later I was swept up into the bear of a vampire's arms. As he picked me up, he seemed to be looking at my face as if expecting shock or something of the sort. When my face remained passive he started to frown. _Why are vampires always so disappointed that they can't shock me with their actions? Shouldn't it be obvious that I would be used to it after living around vampires for several months?_

"Don't be upset big guy. I am just not easily shocked after all that I have seen. I have learned to expect the unexpected," I said. He just continued to frown at me. Suddenly we started running down the passage. I quickly became freezing cold as all of the air rushed past me, the cold only being made worse by the temperature of the being that was holding me. Thankfully my clothes and hair were also drying as we ran. We continued to run for a few more minutes, everyone remaining silent. Jane was still leading our group as Felix, Edward, and I were behind her and another vampire was behind us. After running for probably what was only about 2 minutes, we seemed to have left the passageway and entered some other area that was much better lit. However, I wasn't sure what it looked like because everything was still a blur to me because of the speed we are going. After about a minute of us running in this new area, we came to a stop in front of a very large set of doors. Felix placed me on the ground and stepped up next to Jane, who was once again facing us.

"Wait here with Felix and Demetri while I let the kings know that you are here," Jane said before opening one of the massive doors with ease, and going into the next room. As soon as she left, Edward walked up to me and confronted me, his face a mixture of anger and bewilderment.

"What in the world was that about?! Why couldn't you just keep your mouth shut?!" he harshly whispered.

"I don't have time for your childish tantrums right now Edward. It is your fault that we are in this situation in the first place. If you hadn't of overreacted and thought that it was necessary for you to die if I wasn't alive anymore, then I wouldn't have had to come and save your sorry ass. Now shut up and try not to get us killed when we go into that room and meet with the Volturi kings," I said, in no mood for his adolescent mood swings. I noticed Felix and Demetri snickering at how I just scolded Edward as if he was a child. He just stared at me in shock, most likely because I was talking to him this way. _I guess he thought I was just going to stand beside him and look pathetic like I did when we were dating. He is in for a rude awakening, because I am nothing like that anymore._

A few seconds later, Jane came back out of the big doors. When she sees how Edward and I were standing and the look on his face, she arches an eyebrow at me before clearing her throat to get our attention. We all turn towards her, waiting to hear what she has to say.

"The kings are ready for you now," she said before opening both of the large doors. As we began walking towards the next room I began mentally preparing myself for whatever was going to happen once we were in the room, knowing that it was very unlikely that I would come back out of that room with my heart pumping blood through my veins.

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><p><strong>AN** - I hope that you liked my first chapter, I will have the next one up in a few days. Once again, I ask that you please write a review with your opinions of my story so far.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**A/N** – I apologize for taking so long to publish the 2nd chapter, but I got caught up studying for several exams. Please review this chapter after you have read it so that I can further improve upon my writing. All types of comments are welcomed. All thoughts are in _italics, _and all vampire speed conversations are in between ~.

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><p><span>Bella's POV<span>

As we stepped into the room, I took a look around, observing everything that I could. The room itself was very large and open. There wasn't much about the room that really stood out. It was almost circular and seemed to be made mostly of marble. There were very few windows throughout the room, seemingly placed almost strategically. Despite the lack of windows and decor, the room had a very open feel to it. There was also a dais in front the farthest wall from the doors that housed the three thrones of the Volturi kings, where they were now sitting, eyes seemingly following Edward and I as we entered the room. Around the room stood several vampires that seemed to watch our every move, guards no doubt, there to do whatever the kings ordered. Edward and I continued to walk towards the dais until we were in the middle of the room, facing the three Volturi kings. They sat in their thrones, continuing to examine us as we stood there. I quickly took the chance to observe the kings myself.

First I looked at the king on the right. He had platinum blonde hair, and what seemed to be a permanent scowl on his face, almost as if he had just tasted a particularly sour candy of some sort. He sat leaning forward in his throne, head resting on a hand that was propped up on the arm of his throne. He was obviously aggravated at having to be here and having to deal with what I am sure are considered to be fairly trivial matters to him.

Next I looked at the king that was sitting in the middle. He had hair as black as night that seemed to go all the way down his back and was held back from his face by what I am assuming is a clip or tie of some sort. He sat completely upright in his throne, looking at the two of us in an excited and curious manner, yet seeming somewhat stern all at the same time. _This must be Aro. I remember Carlisle mentioning his never ending curiosity and his habit of studying everything and everyone._

Finally I looked over at the third king that was sitting on the left. He had longer brown hair that seemed to be pulled back into a low ponytail. He sat upright in his throne, looking at Edward and I with disinterest on his face. I began to study his face a little more closely, noticing something hidden in his expression. As I studied it, I could see hidden heartache and grief in his eyes. _To think of who he must have lost to feel such sorrow! I wish I could help him in some way._ I thought as I could feel my heart ache in sympathy.

"Ah, young Edward!" Aro exclaimed. I quickly turned my head away from the brown haired king to face Aro. "I see that you were mistaken and that young Miss Bella is alive and well! How wonderful!" Aro said excitedly. _I see Carlisle wasn't exaggerating when he talked about how excitable Aro is,_ I think while trying not to roll my eyes.

Edward replied to Aro in a very flat tone, but I zoned out and didn't hear what he said. The stinging in my chest that I thought was sympathy for the brown haired king, had gotten worse. I glanced back at the brown haired king and noticed that he hadn't moved except that it now seemed as if he was looking between Edward and I, not actually at either of us. Aro and Edward kept speaking, Edward growling at Aro at some points, but I couldn't focus on them. For some strange reason the pain in my chest was continuing to intensify, making it very difficult for me to focus on anything but that pain and, for some strange reason, the brown haired king. All of a sudden Edward grabbed my arm and shook me, forcing me to focus on what he was saying.

"What?" I asked, glaring at him, my arm starting to ache where he was holding it.

"Were you not paying attention to anything that is happening?!" he exclaims, obviously frustrated.

"No, I've been a bit preoccupied," I say with a completely flat tone.

"With what?!" he practically yells in exasperation. I raised my eyebrow at how he was acting. _This takes his childishness to a whole new level. I thought he was at least smart enough to know how to act in front of the Volturi kings, three people that could essentially kill us and his entire family without even lifting a finger. Fine, if that is the way he wants to speak to me, then I am going to give him a taste of his own medicine._

"I was trying to count how many different ways you have shown how immature you are since I have met you. There are a surprising amount of them seeing as you are over 100 years old. One would think you would know better by now, and be able to act more mature then a five year old," I said, keeping one of my eyebrows raised at him. I was daring him to say something back. Edward just stared at me for a few seconds before shaking his head and sighing in frustration.

"Aro wanted to know if his power works on you," he said. _I guess Edward finally gave up on trying to argue with me. Smart man._ I thought, smirking at Edward.

I was turning towards Aro to answer him, when the pain in my chest flared up, reminding me of its strange existence. Without realizing that I was doing it, my face had scrunched up in pain, and my hands moved to my chest as if I could pull the pain out of my chest.

"Isabella? Are you alright?" Aro asked sounding slightly concerned. I took a few deep breaths, trying to get the pain in control. Unfortunately, it wasn't helping at all. The more I tried to control the pain, the worse it got. Before I knew it, I had fallen to my knees and had almost completely curled into a ball in a feeble attempt to stop the pain.

3rd Person POV

After staring at Bella in shock for a few seconds, Aro hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder, a concerned look on his face.

"Isabella, can you tell me what is wrong?" Aro asked Bella genty.

"Chest...hurts...feels...like...my...heart...is...being...set...on...fire," Bella said, panting for breath in between each word I managed to gasp out.

"When did this pain start Isabella?"

"Not...long...after...enter...ing...this...room."

"Is there a history of heart problems in your family?"

"N...o," Bella gasps out again. It was obvious that it was getting even harder for Bella to breathe and talk. All of a sudden one of the guards spoke, from somewhere in the large room.

~Master, her heart doesn't sound like it is in any kind of distress outside of the fact that it is beating way too rapidly. To be honest, if I didn't know any better, I would think she was suffering from her mate bond being severed. Her situation seems to be exactly like when we accidentally kill one mate before the other, especially if they had been together for many years.~ this guard said.

~I understand what you are saying, but she is human. How can she be going through something only vampires have experienced before? Unless...this has something to do with her shield! If her brain is close enough to a vampire's in development to have developed her shield to the capacity it is at, then it is possible that her brain is also capable of recognizing her mate!~ Aro said in wonder, lost in the science of it all for a few seconds.

After thinking about it for a few seconds, Aro's expression changed from one of wonder to one of confusion.

~What is wrong, master?~ Jane asked, her own face looking slightly concerned.

~Even if her brain is capable of recognizing her mate, I don't understand why she is going through the pain of a mate bond being severed? Her mate would have to be in close proximity because of the pain of being too far from your mate, and yet no one close enough has been killed that I am aware of, especially someone that she has met and known for many years,~ Aro explained, his face completely confused and worried. As soon as Aro finished speaking, Edward finally cracked and started yelling.

"Stop talking about her mate as if we don't know who he is! I am her mate! I don't know what you have done to her to cause her pain, but you need to stop it right this second!" Edward demanded, almost stomping his foot at the end of his little rant. All of a sudden something happened that no one expected.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU IMMATURE LITTLE BRAT!" Bella screamed, her voice almost shaking from her anger and agony. No one had noticed, but she had been following the conversation as best as she could in her situation, not wanting to be left unaware of what was going on. Everyone started at her in shock of what she just shouted, as she shouldn't have been able to hear what they were saying with the speed they were speaking at. Aro was the first one to recover and simply chuckled at Bella while looking at her in a bit of wonder. She had gone back to curling herself into a ball and trying to block out the intense pain that was flowing through her body.

~Maybe you should listen to Isabella, young Edward. Whether you want to realize it or not, you two simply cannot be mates,~ Aro said to Edward, turning his head away from Bella to look at him while he said this. Edward just glared at Aro defiantly.

~You are wrong Aro, Bella and I are mates!~

~No you are not! Stop and think about it for a minute. Mates cannot hurt each other and they cannot go far from each other without feeling debilitating pain. Not only have you hurt her multiple times, but you broke up with her and ran all the way to Africa to sulk! Not to mention how you refused to allow her to change when she was bitten by that vampire James. If she was your mate, you would have just let her change instead of risking her life further by sucking the venom out!~ Aro declared impatiently, making it painfully obvious how Edward could not have been Bella's mate. He was getting tired of how Edward refused to see the situation as it is.

~That isn't true, I just wanted her to be happy!~ Edward exclaimed.

~If you don't believe me then we can have Marcus check her bonds and see if she holds a true mate bond to you. If she does then you are free to go as long as you change her into a vampire. If she does not hold a true mate bond to you, then you both will be held fully accountable for your actions,~ Aro said.

~That is fine, we will be walking out of here before you know it because I know that we are true mates,~ Edward declared with a smug look on his face. Aro just raised an eyebrow in skepticism at Edwards attitude before turning towards Marcus in askance. Marcus nodded his head automatically, even though he was not fully aware of what Aro had just asked of him due to the thoughts running through his head. Aro then turned to look at Alec.

~Alec, would you please cut off all of Edwards senses until I tell you to release him? I have a feeling that he is not going to react well to the results of this inquiry, and do not want to have to deal with him throwing a…what is the word? ...Ah yes, a temper tantrum.~

~Yes, master Aro,~ Alec said without hesitation before quickly focusing on Edward and blocking all of his senses before he could react to what Aro had just said. As soon as this happened, Aro turned towards Marcus.

~Marcus, brother?~ Aro said in an effort to rouse Marcus from the fog he seemed to be in. Marcus did stir and looked towards Aro with a blank expression on his face.

~Yes, Aro?~ he asked in a bored tone of voice.

~Would you please look at Isabella's bonds and tell us who her true mate is, and see if you can tell why she is in such pain?~ Aro said, gesturing towards Bella, who was still curled on the floor the same way she was a few seconds ago when they began to speak at vampire speed.

~As you wish, Aro, ~ Marcus said in a monotone, clearly trying to continue to look indifferent towards what was going on. Marcus's eyes glazed as he used his bond sight to look at Bella's bonds. After a minute or so, his expression went from impassive to one of complete shock. Aro saw this and was instantly curious.

~Brother, what is it that you see? ~ he asked impatiently. Marcus didn't respond. Instead he remained motionless for several minutes before his face once again changed. This time his expression went from one of shock to one of awe, hope, and love.

~Brother?~ Aro asked again, hoping that what Marcus was seeing would not only set Edward straight, but also show a way to get rid of the pain that Bella was in. Aro walked towards Marcus, touching his hand and seeing what Marcus was seeing in his bond sight. As Aro's face turned into one of joys when he realized what Marcus was seeing, Marcus left his bond sight with a gentle smile on his face, just staring at Bella.

~Well brothers, what has Marcus seen?~ Caius said, finally having had enough of their silence and wanting to know what was going on.

~Edward is not her true mate,~ Aro said with a smile on his face.

~Well then, why is she on the floor in pain? Does it have to do with her true mate, and do you know it is?~ Caius said impatiently.

~We know who her true mate is, and I have a theory as to why she is in such pain,~ Aro said. Marcus's head snapped to Aro as he spoke, wanting to know what had caused her such pain.

~Well?~ Caius said when Aro did not immediately explain, still being as impatient as ever.

~My theory as to why she is in such pain is that her true mate's heart was closed and unable to accept her bond in any way. When she saw her true mate, her soul went to bond with him, but because his heart was closed, her bond was not able to connect with him, and her body is responding as if her mate had died and the bond was severed,~ Aro explained. As Aro said this, Marcus's face turned to horror.

~Oh no, what have I done?~ Marcus whispered almost inaudibly to the vampires, looking like he wanted to cry.

~Marcus, what are you talking about? You haven't done anything to the human girl. Aro, tell us who her true mate with the closed heart is so that we can rectify this situation?~ Caius asked, becoming more irritated and confused by his concern for the human girl and the situation as the seconds went by.

~Her true mate is our dear brother, Marcus,~ Aro said, smile still on his face.

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><p><strong>AN** - I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Again, I am so sorry that it took so long to put this chapter up, but I have been studying for my midterms and didn't always have time to write. I will have the next one up as soon as I can, but it won't take any longer than a week. Once again, I ask that you please write a review with your opinions of my story so far so that I can continue to improve.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**A/N** - Please review this chapter after you have read it so that I can further improve upon my writing. All types of comments are welcomed. All thoughts are in _italics, _and all vampire speed conversations are in between ~.

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><p><strong>Recap:<strong>

**~Oh no, what have I done?~ Marcus whispered almost inaudibly to himself, looking like he wanted to cry.**

**~Marcus, what are you talking about? You haven't done anything to the human girl. Aro, tell us who her true mate with the closed heart is so that we can rectify this situation?~ Caius asked, becoming more irritated and confused by his concern for the human girl and the situation as the seconds went by.**

**~Her true mate is our dear brother, Marcus,~ Aro said, smile still on his face.**

3rd Person POV

After Aro stated how Marcus was Bella's true mate, everyone but Marcus and Aro were frozen out of shock. Aro merely remained standing next to Marcus's throne and just looked around at everyone, taking in their reactions to the news. Marcus on the other hand, slowly began to stand, never taking his eyes off of his newfound mate as if she would disappear if he did.

Bella was laying on the ground, curled up and clutching her chest in pain as this conversation went on. Only about 1 minute had passed since the conversation began, and already she seemed to be holding back her screams at the moment, but couldn't seem to help the few whimpers that would slip out. Incidentally, she hadn't made a single sound since Aro's declaration that Marcus was her true mate. She would have remained quiet too, but then the pain flared once again and, she was forced to let out another whimper.

When Bella let that whimper out, it is as if a switch was turned on in Marcus, and he immediately ran to kneel by her side. As soon as he reached her, he quickly but gently picked her up off of the ground and sat down on the ground, not seeming to care if he got his clothes dirty. He placed her in his lap and began rocking her back and forth, while murmuring apologies into her hair. As he sat there with his newfound mate in his arms, Marcus's eyes filled with tears of anguish that would never fall.

Bella's POV

I don't know how long I had lain on the ground with the pain filling my chest. It seemed like forever. I don't remember much about what was going on, except for Edward yelling and acting like an immature child yet again. All I could think of when I heard him yelling was that he needed to let the Volturi kings do what they were doing. I don't know how I did it, but somehow I managed to scream at him to shut up so that he didn't get us killed or worse because of his stupidity. Then I just lay there, doing my best not to scream out in pain.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pain suddenly disappeared, seemingly melting into a feeling of warmth and comfort. As I slowly began to become aware of my surrounds again, I noticed that I was in the arms of someone. They were rocking me back and forth while murmuring what seemed like apologies into my hair. I quickly scanned the room without moving my head, and noticed a few things. The first was that Edward stood nearby, staying completely still with a blank expression on his face. The second was that Aro stood up on the dais next to the empty throne of the brown haired king. Aro had a bright smile on his face, as if he discovered a huge secret. The third thing that I noticed was that the blond haired king was sitting in his throne with a look of complete and utter shock on his face. Finally, I looked to the man who was holding me, turning my head in the process and moving for the first time since the pain had disappeared. I quickly saw that it was the brown-haired king who was holding me in his arms.

As I studied him, I noticed that the brown-haired king seemed to be completely lost in his anguish, completely unaware of what was going on around him. As I observed him, I felt a twinge in my chest at the thought of him being so upset. Without thinking about it I moved my hand to touch his face, wanting to comfort him in some way. As soon as my hand made contact with his skin, he froze in place before slowly opening his eyes and moving to look at me. When our eyes connected, all remnants of the pain disappeared from my chest. It was as if it had never existed in the first place. An emptiness in my chest that I hadn't even known was there was suddenly filled. _What in the world is going on!? Why do I feel like this all of a sudden!?_

"Are you well cara mia?" the brown haired king asked me. His voice washed over me like velvet. I had never heard anything so wonderful in my life.

"I am fine now," I replied, still staring at him.

"I am delighted to hear that," he said smiling, making me smile in turn.

"Wait, why did that pain suddenly appear!? Is there something wrong with my heart!?" I asked, being brought back down to earth from the cloud that I had been in. I quickly became panicked as all of the possibilities ran through my head. My mind was going through all of the possibilities, quickly jumping to the worse ones, when all of a sudden I felt a vibration running through my body and I could faintly hear a rumbling noise. As soon as the vibration and rumbling started, I unconsciously began to calm down.

"Relax cara mia, you are physically well. You have no conditions to fear," the brown haired king said, completely calming me. I relaxed into his arms before I became confused. _How does he know that there is nothing wrong with me? Vampire senses can't possibly be able to sense all of the possible afflictions in the human body, can they?_

"How could you know that? Can vampire senses really pick up that much about a person?" I ask, almost desperate to know if they are telling the truth or not. _If they are lying, then I could have something really wrong with me and not know it. I could be dying! _Thought I had just been calm at the thought of facing the Volturi kings and possibly not living through this, I suddenly just couldn't fathom dying. The thought terrified me more than it ever had before. Normally if I am in a dangerous situation, I am able to somewhat calmly think about the situation and do my best to make the odds work in my favor, but I just couldn't right now and that alone was scaring me.

"We are indeed able to use our senses to tell if a human is healthy or not. Not to mention, Aro has read the minds of several doctors throughout time and would be able to see if you had any of the symptoms of any life threatening conditions. _If there is nothing physically wrong with me, then what happened to me? My chest shouldn't have just started hurting like that._ Just as these thoughts were running through my mind, Aro decided to speak up, making me aware of the others in the room

"You have no need to worry Isabella. We have figured out what has caused your pain, and we strongly doubt that the pain will return," Aro said while taking a few steps in our direction, though seeming to make sure he kept his distance from me and the brown-haired king. I raised an eyebrow at his behavior and at the way he managed to phrase it, making sure not to tell me what had happened as if I didn't need to know.

"Aro, I hope that you do not make a habit of withholding information from people when it could very well effect their life and decisions," I said while raising an eyebrow at him skeptically. "Oh, and on that note, would you care to enlighten me as to what occurred that caused my pain? I would very much like to know so that I can do my best to prevent it from happening again." Aro's first reaction to what I had said was to laugh.

"You are a delight Isabella. Regarding what had happened to you, I believe that my brother, Marcus, would like to explain this to you himself," Aro said while gesturing to the man who was holding me. _So this must be Marcus, and the blonde one that had a scowl on his face would be Caius. At least now I know what to call all three of them._ I thought before I turned to face Marcus.

"Would you please explain to me what happened?" I ask, ending up smiling again as I see him smiling at me.

"Of course cara mia, but would you like to retiring to a more comfortable setting? My office perhaps? The explanation may take some time and I do not want you to become uncomfortable," he responded. _I could never be uncomfortable in your arms._ Ran through my head before I blushed at my thoughts.

"Yes, that does sound like a good idea," I say. Turning to Aro before leaving. "Aro, are you going to keep Edward under that boy's power until we return?" I ask, seeing the boy in question scowling at me. _Oops, guess I shouldn't call him a boy._

"If that is what you wish, then we will keep him in Alec's power until you return," Aro responded.

"It would be unfair to ask of Alec, to be using his gift to keep Edward behaving. Do you have a type of holding cell somewhere in this castle that you could put him in?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"The only such accommodations we have would be the dungeons," Aro replied with an expectant smile on his face and a gleam in his eye.

"If you don't mind, I think that it would be a great idea to put Edward down there. If he is there, then Alec doesn't have to bore himself with watching over Edward, and, though doubtful, Edward may even learn to grow up a little when he realizes where he has been placed. The dungeons are no doubt soundproofed from the rest of the castle as well?"

"Yes they are, and it would be my pleasure to place young Edward down there until you are ready to reconvene."

"Thank you Aro. Oh, and I won't hold anything against anyone that 'accidentally' harms Edward while he is in the dungeon," I say with a slightly malicious gleam in my eyes. Then I turn to Marcus, who was still sitting on the floor and holding me in his arms. "Shall we head to your office now to discuss what has happened to me?"

"Yes, would you like me to carry you there? It would be faster if I were to run us there. Not to mention that you may still be weak from your experience earlier," Marcus said, and the first thing that went through my head was: _I have never before been more thankful for an excuse to be carried around._

"That would be nice, thank you Marcus," I say with a smile on my face while mentally jumping for joy, though I was still unsure as to why.

"It is my pleasure cara mia."

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><p><strong>AN** – I am so sorry that it took so long to update, I had no intention of it taking so long. I had gotten caught up with end of semester craziness, and then had a serious case of writers' block until now. I have already began writing the next chapter and plan to have it up in a few days. I hope you enjoy this new chapter. As always, please review and tell me what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**A/N** - Please review this chapter after you have read it so that I can further improve upon my writing. All types of comments are welcomed. All thoughts are in _italics, _and all vampire speed conversations are in between ~.

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><p><strong>Recap:<strong>

**"****Shall we head to your office now to discuss what has happened to me?"**

**"****Yes, would you like me to carry you there? It would be faster if I were to run us there. Not to mention that you may still be weak from your experience earlier," Marcus said, and the first thing that went through my head was: ****_I have never before been more thankful for an excuse to be carried around._**

**"****That would be nice, thank you Marcus," I say with a smile on my face while mentally jumping for joy, though I was still unsure as to why.**

**"****It is my pleasure cara mia."**

Bella's POV

Marcus stood up effortlessly with me held securely in his arms. Then he nodded to Aro and Caius before everything became a blur. Within seconds we were outside of a set of large doors (though they are smaller than the doors we entered to the throne room). Marcus readjusted to hold me with one arm, and used the other to push open one of the doors. As we walked into what I assumed was his office, I looked around in shock and awe.

The room was tastefully decorated with paintings and sculptures from different time periods, and had bookshelves that covered two of the walls. They contained not only books from throughout the ages, but scrolls as well. There was also a very beautiful (and comfortable looking) couch with matching chairs. _Wow, if this is his office, I wonder what his bedroom looks like._ I thought blushing as the thought ran through my head.

"Wow, your office is amazing," I say, my voice filled with awe as I continue to gaze around the room.

"Thank you cara mia," Marcus replied with a gentle smile on his face. He quickly walked into the room and set me down. I blushed once again when I realized that he had been carrying me the whole way. _Wow, I have never blushed this much before. Not even when I first became enamored with Edward. _I quickly got distracted by his office, and began to distractedly walking around to look at everything. Marcus silently followed me around the room. After I had circled Marcus's office once, I turned to him and ended up staring at him for a few seconds before remembering why I was here in the first place. I quickly looked around again and noticed that the other two Volturi brothers were not in the room.

"Where are Aro and Caius? I would have thought that at least Aro would want to be here," I ask, the curiosity obvious in my voice.

"They decided to stay behind as this conversation does not really concern them."

"Why would this conversation not concern them, and wouldn't they need to be here when you tell me about whether you kill me or say that I have to be turned into a vampire?" I ask, not understanding what was going on.

"You need not worry about that cara mia," Marcus said with a sincere look on his face.

"And why is that?"

"Due to certain circumstances, my brothers and I will never harm you or do anything to you without your permission first."

"Would you care to enlighten me about those circumstances, because I cannot understand why the Volturi would allow me to just continue to live on with my knowledge of vampires," I ask, curiosity filling my voice.

"Why don't we go and sit down, and I will do my best to explain what happened to you in the throne room as well as what as why you won't be harmed by us for your knowledge?" Marcus said, gesturing towards some very comfortable looking chairs in front of a lit fireplace.

"That sounds like a good idea," I say while heading towards the chairs in front of the fire. As I sit down, I notice a light tugging in my chest, and absentmindedly rub my hand there. Before I could begin to worry what that tugging feeling could mean, Marcus sat down in the chair next to mine and placed a hand over mine that was resting on the armrest of the chair. As he did, a wonderful feeling ran through me. It was like an echo of how I had felt when Marcus was holding me as the pain disappeared not long ago. Before I could start to think about what that feeling could mean, Marcus began to speak.

"Now, I want you to know that what I am about to say is the complete truth, even if it may be hard to believe," he said, pausing to look me in the eyes before continuing. "While we were attempting to find out what was causing your pain, one of the guards had made an observation. He said that it didn't look like you were suffering from any kind of medical condition. Instead it looked more like you were a vampire that was suffering from the severing of their mate bond."

"But how could that be true? I haven't met my mate yet, at least not that I know of," I say, now thoroughly confused.

"Wait, you know that Edward isn't your mate? I thought the two of you were under the impression that you were each other's mates."

"Yeah, I know that he isn't my mate. To be honest, I had doubts from the start, because how could you want to kill your mate? Not to mention that he never had problems staying away from me for long periods of time."

"I am glad that you are aware that he isn't your mate," he said, looking slightly relieved.

"So, back to the point, how could that pain have been caused by the severing of my mate bond if I have yet to meet my mate, let alone try to bond with them in any way?" I ask, eager and impatient to know what was going on with me.

"A mate bond doesn't quite work like that, especially not at first. You see, typically it takes physical contact for a bond to form between two beings. However, when two mates first meet each other, their souls reach out to the other, sensing that it is their other half nearby. This is due to the fact that each person only has half a soul, which is made whole when they meet their soul mate. When the two souls finally touch each other, then the bond between the two mates has begun without them even physically touching each other. Humans, however, do not experience this."

"Then why would that guard suggest that a severed mate bond is the cause of my pain?" I say just getting more and more confused as Marcus continued to explain about all of this.

"He suggested that merely because we saw this occur before when one mate is accidentally killed before the other. When that happens, the bond between the two halves of the soul is suddenly severed, causing the mate that still lives intense and crippling pain."

"How do you know so much about all of these bonds and soul mates?"

"I am able to know about such things because I have a gift that allows me to see the bonds between people."

"That makes sense. A gift like that would have come in handy for me a few months ago."

"Ah, yes. The incident with the nomadic vampires. My gift would indeed have been beneficial in that situation. Now, should we get back to our discussion on your condition?"

"Oh, yes please. One thing that confuses me still, is that even if I had managed to just find my soulmate, why would it be as if they had just died for me? And why did I even feel it? I'm not a vampire, and you said that that only occurs in vampires and not in humans."

"That is true, and while I can shed some light on a part of that, I am unfortunately unable to tell you why you were able to feel all of this as a human."

"Would you please tell me what you do know? And please be straightforward, not knowing what is going on with my own body is starting to get to me."

"Of course, cara mia. Though we don't know why, your soul acted like it would have if you had been changed. When you met your mate, your soul reached out to him. Unfortunately, his soul was closed off, stopping your soul from connecting to his. This caused the pain you were experiencing," Marcus explained.

"If that is so, the why did the pain stop?"

"Because your mate became aware of who he was and what he was doing. As this happened he was able to open his soul up to yours, and as soon as he touched you, your pain ceased because your souls were able to bond," Marcus said. As he spoke, something that he was saying dawned on me.

"Wait, are you saying that I have met my soul mate?! The other half of my soul? My perfect match in every way?"

"Indeed you have."

"Then where is he, shouldn't he have been here while I was being told all of this?" I say, before pausing for a second. When I stopped speaking, Marcus seemed like he was about to answer my questions, but I stopped him with another question that came to my mind. One that I just had to ask, and needed the answer to. "Who is my mate?" I ask Marcus, while staring at him, waiting for him to tell me who my soul mate is. He seems to take a deep breath, as if to calm himself before looking straight into my eyes and answering. When I hear his answer, I am shocked to my core.

"Isabella, I am your mate."

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><p><strong>AN** – I really am sorry that it took so long for me to update. I promise that I am back, and that I will be updating regularly. I am also sorry that this chapter is a bit short. I felt that this was the perfect place for me to end it. I promise that the next chapter will be longer to make up for it. I have already began writing the next chapter and plan to have it up in about a week. I hope you enjoy this new chapter. As always, please review and tell me what you think.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**A/N** - Please review this chapter after you have read it. All types of comments are welcomed, good or bad. All thoughts are in _italics, _and all vampire speed conversations are in between ~.

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><p><strong>Recap:<strong>

**"Wait, are you saying that I have met my soul mate?! The other half of my soul? My perfect match in every way?"**

**"Indeed you have."**

**"Then where is he, shouldn't he have been here while I was being told all of this?" I say, before pausing for a second. When I stopped speaking, Marcus seemed like he was about to answer my questions, but I stopped him with another question that came to my mind. One that I just had to ask, and needed the answer to. "Who is my mate?" I ask Marcus, while staring at him, waiting for him to tell me who my soul mate is. He seems to take a deep breath, as if to calm himself before looking straight into my eyes and answering. When I hear his answer, I am shocked to my core.**

**"Isabella, I am your mate."**

Bella's POV

After I heard those words, my eyes widened and I simply couldn't move. I quickly went into denial. _He can't be telling the truth. There is no way that simple, boring old me could be the mate to someone as important and gorgeous as him._ Similar thoughts just kept running through my head, filling it with reasons why Marcus would be lying to me. I just couldn't comprehend how I could be the mate of Marcus, a King of the Volturi. All while my mind is running wild, my body seems to be frozen from the shock of what Marcus had just told me.

During my internal freak out, Marcus just remained where he was. He kept staring into my eyes, as if trying to get me to see the truth of his words. Part of me felt like I could trust Marcus explicitly, and that he was telling the truth, but another part was screaming at me that it was all a lie and couldn't be real. Suddenly I couldn't keep quiet any longer, I took a deep breath before I finally said what was on my mind.

Marcus's POV

As soon as I finally told her that I was her mate, she just froze. Her eyes seemed to fill with disbelief. After a few seconds, and I realized that she wasn't saying anything, my insecurities surged forward. _What could be going through her mind? Why won't she speak? Is she disgusted with the thought of being my mate? With me? Oh gods, I need to know what she is thinking._ All the while, I just continued to look into her eyes. Hoping to convey the truth of my words to her, while internally pleading that she wouldn't reject me. Seconds turned into minutes, and Isabella was still frozen with a stillness that I only thought vampires could attain. Just as I was about to try and gain her attention in hopes of breaking her out of her stupor, she took a deep breath and finally spoke.

Bella's POV

"Are you really telling me the truth, or is this all part of some cruel joke? How could someone like me be the mate of someone like you?" came rushing out of my mouth. I just couldn't believe that what he was saying was the truth.

"I am telling you the truth cara mia, I swear to you. This is not a joke of any sort," Marcus said, starring strait at me with a completely serious look on his face.

"But, how? You are so gorgeous and perfect, and I am just plain and boring. It doesn't make any sense," I state. Though I was hoping that everything was true, I couldn't help but be skeptical. Compared to the beauty and perfection of vampires, I was practically a dog. Not to mention the last time a vampire told me I was their mate, it was Edward, and it was all a complete lie.

"First of all, cara mia, you are anything but plain and boring. I can tell that even though I have just met you a few minutes ago."

"How can you tell that? I barely even spoke, and I was curled up in pain for most of the time."

"First of all, when you entered the throne room, the first thing that you did was look around. It wasn't in awe like most of the humans who come in here, but instead seemed to be more about knowing your surroundings. I am right?" he asked. I nodded in response, surprised that he had noticed that about me. "Doing that alone says that you are unique and intelligent, especially for a human in the vampire world." I blushed when he said that.

"It wasn't anything like that, I just knew that I had a very slim chance of walking out of here alive because of my knowledge of vampires, and I wanted to give myself the best chance I could. I have no desire to die any time soon, because there is still so much that I want to see and do in this world. It is probably something that anyone in my position would have done."

"But that is where you are wrong, cara mia. We have been situations similar to this on before. All the other times, not only the humans, but the vampires as well hadn't thought to use their intelligence to get themselves out of the situation. Instead, they simply decided to beg for their lives when given the chance to speak," Marcus said. I just sat there while he spoke, not believing what he was saying.

"Are you really telling the truth? Am I really your mate?"

"Yes, you are," he said with such confidence that I wasn't couldn't help but believe him.

"Ok," I said. _I'm sure that when I get a chance to think about all of this I'll probably be second guessing all of this, but I can't help but to believe him right now._ I thought, but then I remembered something that he had said. He had said that my mate's heart was closed off.

"May I ask you a question?" I asked, fully aware that even if he was my mate, he was still a Volturi king.

"Of course you can, cara mia."

"Earlier you said that the pain was caused by my mate's soul being closed off. If you are my mate, may I ask why your soul was thought to have been closed off?" I asked, really curious as to what could have happened to him that could cause him to close his soul off from others.

"That is a long story that may be better off saved for another time. Let's suffice to say that someone that I loved dearly was killed, and after that I closed myself off from others in grief," he said with a pained look on his face. It was obvious that whoever it was, he was not completely over them yet.

"I am so sorry that you had to lose someone that you obviously loved and cared for so much."

"Thank you. Even though it has been a long time since their passing, I sometimes find it difficult to cope with their loss."

"Is that why you seemed to be so spaced out while we were in the throne room?"

"Yes, it is why I seemed so absent minded. I have been like that for a long time, especially because it doesn't take a lot of effort to still listen into what is going on and responding to what I believe should happen, while the main part of my thoughts are on other things."

"I imagine that that would be fairly easy to do with your enhanced brain capacity. I know humans who even do that sometimes, though I doubt as well as a vampire would be able to do."

"Back to your original question, when I had looked at your bonds and saw your bond to me, I froze in disbelief. For a long time, I had thought I was going to be alone for the rest of my existence. Seeing your bond to me, hope began to bloom in me that I would not be alone. When I did not respond immediately, Aro touched me and saw what I was seeing in my bond sight. As he revealed to everyone what I was seeing, horror began to fill me. The one person in the world who could help relieve me of the loneliness and emptiness, I had closed myself off from and was consequently harming because of it. My soul seemingly flared open, and I ran to you. Luckily as soon as we made physical contact, your side of the bond immediately connected with my soul, doing what it should have done when our eyes had first met." Marcus explained. I sat there and thought about what he said.

"I can't really understand all of this the way you and Aro do, not being able to see it all. To be honest, I don't know how much of this soul mate stuff I actually believe. I've already been told by one vampire that I am their soul mate, and that turned out to be a lie."

"I can understand why you would be skeptical. However, how else can you explain the pain that you experienced in your chest?" he asked. _He makes a good point, but how am I to know why the pain started and why it stopped. Maybe he has another way to prove this to me, _I think. Some part of me wanted to believe him too. That part of me was begging for some reason to believe that what he was saying was true, that I was really meant to be with someone as gorgeous, kind, and smart as him.

"Is there some way that you can prove what you are saying? Some way that I could see or feel something that would prove what you are saying is the truth?" After I said that, Marcus stared at me for a few seconds, as if contemplating something, before speaking.

"Well, besides the obvious, killing me and severing the bond, there may be one other situation that could prove the bond to you. The only problem is that it is going to cause you some pain, and though it won't be as bad as it was earlier, I don't know how bad it will get. We haven't seen a mate bond as strong as ours in a human before, so I have no precedent in this situation. I don't know what it could do to you," Marcus said, concern filling his eyes. _He seems really concerned, but I need to be sure before anything else happens._

"What is the other situation?" I ask him.

"Well, newly bonded mates and mates that haven't, well, consummated their relationship yet end up in pain every time that they are too far from each other. After their relationship is consummated, the pain turns into what I've heard of as a hollow awareness which gains in intensity as the distance grows," he said, sounding reluctant, as if he didn't want to tell me about the pain that comes with the separation.

"How far does apart do they have to be to have the pain start to set in?"

"It depends on each pair, and the situation that each of the two were in. Some were able to be farther apart than others, and if one of the two were in danger or feeling particularly strong emotions, then the pain would increase. It is possible that because you are human you will not be able to be very far from me," Marcus said.

"Is that why you carried me here, and why you are sitting so close to me?" I ask curious. _It would explain why he has been so close to me._

"Yes, though it was also quicker and easier for me to carry you here."

"Ok, I guess I can't fault you for that," I said. "Now, even though I do not welcome the chance of the pain returning, I do need some evidence that what you are saying is true. I can't make any decisions until I know more about all of this. If what you say is true, and I am your mate then I won't be able to be very far for you, meaning I will need to move to Italy somehow, as I doubt you would move to Forks for me," I said. All the while a part of me was thinking, _I can't believe that I am being allowed to make so many decisions. I came into this prepared to never walk out of here again, or at least not with my heart beating. Now I am being told that I am the mate of one of the Volturi kings, and I may not be able to leave for completely different reasons. _Even though I knew asking all of these questions and practically demanding these things wasn't necessarily the smartest thing for someone in my situation to do, but at the moment, I was able to get away with it and I was going to go with it. Not to mention the fact that it is possible that Marcus was telling the truth, and I wanted nothing more than to know the truth.

"I guess…we could try it if you really feel it is something you need to do. I understand why you would need to do this, and I'm not trying to stop you from finding your answers, but I am just reluctant to cause you any more pain after what happened earlier. Plus I am worried about what it could do to your health."

"I can tell that you are not trying to necessarily stop me. Why would you be worried about my health? I thought that I wouldn't be human for much longer, so I wouldn't have to worry so much about my health." I was completely confused. Why would I get to stay human?

"I told you before that Aro, Caius and I would not allow anything to happen to you without your permission. That includes your decision about if and when you want to become a vampire," Marcus said, voice and eyes dripping with sincerity. _Man, it is hard to not believe him when he looks at you and talks to you like that. _

"Is this all because you believe that I am your mate?"

"Yes, it is."

"Wow, thank you. Now more than ever, I really need to know if you really are telling the truth about this whole mate thing."

"I guess we should head out into the hall way then," Marcus said, seeming ready to get it all over with. That was most likely because he just didn't want to do this at all, if what he has already said on the topic was anything to go by.

"The hallway?"

"Yeah, that way we can get as far away as needed for you to believe that we are mates. I doubt it will take too much distance, but I thought that the extra distance would be good just in case, especially since you don't seem to necessarily follow the usual parameters of what occurs."

"Oh man, isn't that the truth," I said, quietly chuckling to myself.

"We should probably also have someone else there as well, in order to keep a close eye on you. I would feel better if there was someone next to you in case something happens that we did not anticipate."

"That sounds reasonable. Thank you for allowing me to do this. I know that you see these bonds, but I just need something more concrete before I make any kind of decisions, especially since these decisions will most likely affect me for the rest of my life."

"Would you mind if Aro is the one to watch you?"

"Yeah, Aro is fine."

"Well then, shall we?" he asks, standing up and holding out a hand to me. I took his hand and we headed out into the hallway to test the soul mate bond and possibly put me into a large amount of pain. _This ought to be interesting._

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><p><strong>AN** – I am sorry that it took so long to get the chapter out, but here it is, and it is a bit longer than normal to make up for the long time it took me to write it. I hope that you like it. The next chapter will be finished and put out in about a week, maybe less if I am lucky. Please read and review and tell me what you think.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**A/N** - Please review this chapter after you have read it. All types of comments are welcomed, good or bad. All thoughts are in _italics, _and all vampire speed conversations are in between ~.

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><p><span>Bella's POV<span>

As Marcus and I headed out into the hallway, I started to get nervous over what we were about to do. Even though I knew that I needed to do this so that I could have proof of the soul mate bond between us, but I really didn't want to be put into that much pain again, especially so soon after it had stopped. Just as I was starting to freak out about it, I remembered how Marcus was going to have Aro stand next to me. If there was anyone in this place that would know what to do to take care of me if something happens, medically at least, I would expect it to be Aro. With all of the minds that he has read over his many years, he is bound to have a lot of medical knowledge. _Now that I think of it, the way he was speaking to me and the questions he asked when I was first feeling the pain were similar to how a doctor or nurse would react._ As I remembered that, I began to calm down. Marcus knew what he was doing, he would do his best to take care of me. _Man it is strange that I trust him so well already._

As I was stuck in my thoughts, Marcus had lead me into the hallway. When we got into the hallway, he said Aro's name before turning to face me. We stared into each other's eyes, easily getting lost in each other. As I stood there, I marveled at the many flecks of color in Marcus's eyes. They made the red of his iris's stand out, making it look like so much more than just a simple blood red. As we stood there, Marcus continued to hold my hand in his own, the other hand gently caressing my face, as if in awe.

All of a sudden, someone coughed to get our attention. I jumped at the sound, blushing at being caught like that. As I came back into reality, I realized how close my face had gotten to Marcus's and ended up blushing even more. _My face must look like a tomato right now, _I thought, so embarrassed that I was almost mortified. I quickly turned to see who was there, and saw that it was Aro.

"So, I see that you two are getting better acquainted," he said with a knowing smile on his face. I just blushed more at his comment.

"So, shall we get this show on the road?" I said, hoping to move past the embarrassment. Aro just looked at me, raising an eyebrow. _Oops, I guess we forgot to tell him what we were doing. Wait, how did he not already know? If he could hear Marcus speaking his name from in this hallway, then why wouldn't he have heard us from in the office?_

"We should probably tell Aro why he has been called here, cara mia," Marcus said, with a small amused smile on his face.

"He doesn't already know? I thought he would have been able to hear us from here if he was able to hear you saying his name like that," I said, confused, and looked towards Aro and Marcus, hoping for an explanation.

"I have no idea what you two were talking about in Marcus's office, Isabella," Aro said. When he said that I just got more confused. _How does he not know what was said in Marcus's office._ Marcus was the one that spoke this time.

"All of our private rooms and offices were renovated many decades ago to be sound proof even to vampire ears. We did not want to have to worry about others hearing our private business. Especially when the three of us would have private meetings about topics that we weren't ready for the others to hear, or when we would have…well…rendezvous and such with our significant others," Marcus said, looking like he would be blushing if he could. I smiled at him, amused at how he seemed to be embarrassed at admitting that. It was sweet.

"Ah, so that would be why Aro has absolutely no clue what he is doing here right now," I said with a smile still on my face.

"Exactly," Marcus said with a smile.

"Now that that is settled, may I now ask why I am here?" Aro asked, with a wide smile on his face, as if he wanted to laugh at the two of us. Marcus and I looked at each other for a few seconds before I decided to be the one to tell Aro what Marcus and I are planning.

"Well, you see I am a bit skeptical about this whole mate bond thing, so I wanted do something that would prove that I am indeed bonded to Marcus in some way. Marcus said that the only way I could do this besides him dying, would be for us to move apart from each other and essentially cause each other a less intense version of the pain I experienced earlier," I explained to Aro.

"I see. Unfortunately that is the only way that you would feel the bond, though I wish there was another way for us to show it to you."

"As do I brother, but I do want her to be able to trust that what we are saying it true. Sadly this seems to be the only way," Marcus said.

"And let me guess, you wanted to have me be here to make sure that nothing happens to her while you are to walk away from her," Aro said, looking at Marcus expectantly. _How did he know that? _I thought, and then decided to just ask him out loud.

"How did you know that?"

"I have a mate myself, and if I was in Marcus's position I would be doing the same thing, wanting to do my best to make sure that my mate was taken care of in a situation like this one," Aro explained.

"Oh, well that makes a lot of sense."

"I have to admit, I am glad that Marcus has chosen me, because I have been wondering how your bond will work with you still being human. Normally a human cannot create a bond like the one that I saw between you two, even if their mate is a vampire already," Aro said somewhat excitedly.

"So you want to be able to study our bond?" I ask while looking at him with an eyebrow raised. When I said that, he just smiled wider at me, but managed to look sheepish at the same time. I just stared at him, doing my best to keep my face passive and blank.

"Well…yeah…if you don't mind," he said hesitantly. When I didn't react, the smile began to disappear from his face. _I think he may actually be worried that he offended me. _I kept my face blank, staring at him for a few more seconds, before I started laughing. Aro and Marcus stared at me, looking astonished. When I got ahold of myself, I decided to explain.

"Oh man, that was so funny. You should have seen your face. I knew that you were probably going to ask something like that. You seem to be just too curious to not want to study something as unusual and unique as this bond seems to be. I couldn't be mad at you for asking something like that," I said with a big smile on my face.

"You just- Did you really just- "Aro seemed to be so shocked that he couldn't get his thoughts out. I just started laughing again as he stared at me, mouth wide open in a look of complete shock. _To be honest, I am a bit shocked too. How am I so comfortable with them that I could joke with them? _

"Yes, I just tricked you Aro," I said with a big smile on my face. They both kept staring at me, before Marcus just burst out laughing. Aro turned towards him, looking at him with betrayal. It just made Marcus laugh harder. I took one look at the two of them, and broke out in laughter all over again. Aro looked between the two of us for a few seconds before he started chuckling, before it turned into full out belly laughs. We all stood there, laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

After a few minutes, we finally calmed down and I caught my breath. Remembering why we came out into the hallway for the first place, I decided to get us back on track so that we could finally move on from this issue.

"Getting back on track, we should probably start this experiment so that we can figure out how to move on from here," I said, ready to get this over with.

"That is true, we should probably do this, especially before someone gets carried away with young Edward," Marcus said, smirking when he mentioned Edward.

"I wouldn't worry about Edward all that much," I said smirking. "He could use some time to _think_ about how he should act around others." As I said that, Marcus and Aro started smirking too.

"That is true, he could use some self-discipline. He is surprisingly lacking in self-discipline for someone who has lived for over a hundred years," Aro said.

"Well, anyway, how would you two like to do this?" I asked Marcus and Aro. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Aro spoke up.

"You and I should probably remain standing here, while Marcus slowly moves backwards and away from us. As soon as you start feeling pain, you need to say something, though we should know because Marcus should start feeling pain at the same time. I will stand beside you, so that if for some reason the pain hits you intensely or something unusual occurs. Seeing as we have no idea about how the bond will react, you may start feeling pain as soon as Marcus starts stepping away from you, or you may not feel the pain for a few meters, which is what happens for vampires in your situation. You may not even feel any pain until the two of you are quite far away," Aro explained. I nodded when he finished speaking, grateful that he had put so much thought into what we were going to do.

I again turned to face Marcus, getting ready to finally get this whole thing over with so I could face the next challenge of the day. _So after this, I will have to deal with either one of two things. One of which would be the fact that I am the mate of not only a vampire, but that I am the mate of one of the three rulers of the vampire race. The second would be that I am in the company of delusional vampires that can have me killed with a snap of their fingers. Oh man, wouldn't that be my luck. That sounds really unlikely though, because I thought the venom was supposed to perfect a human's body when they were turned. That should mean that being delusional or crazy is impossible. _Just as I was about to get lost in my thoughts on the possibilities of a crazy vampire, Marcus started speaking and brought me out of my thoughts.

"Isabella, are you sure that you need to go through with this? As I said before, I understand your motives, but I worry for you," Marcus asked, face filled with worry. I smiled affectionately at him, before answering.

"Yes, I am sure."

"Well, let's get on with this show," Aro said, clapping his hands together in poorly concealed excitement. I shook my head at him with a smile on my face.

"Aro."

"Yes, Isabella?"

"You are welcome to study our bond as long as Marcus does not object," I said, a knowing smile on my face. As soon as I said that, Aro turned towards Marcus with an excited smile on his face. He looked just like a child on Christmas. Marcus smiled knowingly at Aro before nodding his head, giving Aro his permission to study our bond, _if one really exists._ When Marcus nodded his head to Aro, I half expected Aro to start jumping up and down in excitement. Aro then turned towards me with a giant smile on his face and excitement filling his eyes. I chuckled a bit at how he was acting before turning towards Marcus once again. He sighed and turned to fully face me.

"Alright Aro, let us get this started. The sooner we begin the sooner it is over," Marcus said, obviously not sounding very excited about this. Aro nodded to him and moved to stand to my right, close enough that he would easily be able to catch me if I started to fall from the pain like I did earlier.

Marcus slowly began to step away from me, pausing after each step backwards. At first I felt nothing, and I was starting to rethink my theory on crazy vampires. Then, as Marcus took another step backwards, I started to feel something strange in my chest. Marcus was standing pretty far away at this point. When Marcus took another step backwards, the feeling in my chest grew more intense, and was almost starting to become painful. _Well, at least now I know that they weren't lying about the bond, unless that have some magical way to fake this pain, which I honestly doubt. _ I quickly pointed what I was feeling to Marcus and Aro. Marcus nodded in agreement with me.

"Would you consider the pain unbearable yet?" Aro asked, looking at me curiously.

"No, not yet," I said, not quite liking the way that he phrased that question. Aro nodded to Marcus, who then took another step backwards. At that point, the odd feeling began to hurt. I said this out loud. Marcus gave me an odd look before speaking.

"It is hurting you? I wouldn't consider this to be pain yet. For me it is still just an uncomfortable feeling in my chest," Marcus said.

"Why would it hurt me and not him?" I asked Aro, looking at him in hope that he would have some kind of explanation for me.

"This may be due to the fact that you are human. As vampires, we have a much higher pain tolerance, which comes with the stronger and more durable bodies we get in the transformation," Aro explained. As I thought about what he said, I realized that it made sense. After realizing that, I noticed that the pain in my chest had once again disappeared. I turned my head to my left, and saw that Marcus was once again standing next to me.

"So, how far away are we able to be before the pain begins?" I asked, knowing that they both knew, and figuring that it would be a good idea to know for myself.

"I was able to walk about 10 meters away from you," Marcus said.

"Is that a short distance compared to how far away two vampire mates are able to go from each other?"

"Yes, it is. Vampire mates that are in your situation are able to go about a kilometer away from each other, some more or less then each other depending on the bond. They would need to go that far away from each other in order to hunt without feeling threatened by each other."

"Oh, wow. That is a short compared to how far apart we got from each other," I said. "So we are basically tied at the hip until we are able to…well…consummate the relationship?"

"Yes, and you may not even be able to go really far away if you are a human. We are unsure how the bond will respond, as this is completely new," Marcus explained. I nodded, understanding that they were working on assumptions alone because they had never experienced something like this before. _Well, that is one issue down, and about a thousand more to work through. I guess the first thing that I should worry about would be moving to Volterra since I wouldn't be able to get that far away from Marcus any time soon. After that I guess I have to deal with Edward._

"Well, since I do now believe you about the bond between Marcus and I, and we know how far apart we can go without pain, there is one thing that I need to do, and I may need your help," I said to Marcus and Aro.

"And what is it that you need to do, cara mia?" Marcus asked.

"I need to move to Volterra," I said. Both of them immediately got a look on their faces that said they hadn't really thought of that before.

"Well, I'm sure that we can help you with that. Just tell us what you want us to do. After living for so many millennia, we have a lot of connections and even more money to buy whatever our connections cannot get us," Aro said with a smirk on his face. I just chuckled at that.

"I have no doubt that you do have just as many connections and just as much money as you say you do," I said, still chuckling a bit.

"So, cara mia, shall the three of us head into my office and set everything up for you to move here?" Marcus asked, holding his arm out to me. I took it with a smile before answering.

"Yes, yes we shall," I said with a big smile on my face.

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><p><strong>AN** – Well, here is the next chapter that I promised you all. I hope that you enjoyed it. Please click that review button and tell me what you think. I welcome all opinions and comments.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**A/N** - Please press the button and review after you have read the chapter. All types of comments are welcomed, good or bad as I am always looking for a way to improve my writing. All thoughts are in _italics, _and all vampire speed conversations are in between ~.

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><p><span>Bella's POV<span>

Together Marcus, Aro, and I walked into Marcus's office. Marcus led me towards his desk with Aro following behind us. Aro sat down in front of the desk in one of the comfortable looing chairs there. I went to go and sit down next to him, but Marcus stopped me, pulling me behind the desk. I looked up at him, and just raised an eyebrow at his behavior. He just smiled down at me, and gestured for me to sit in his chair behind the desk.

"You want me to sit in your chair, behind your desk, in your office?" I asked, somewhat skeptical. Even though I was his mate, it didn't quite make sense for me to get his chair in such a symbolic place in his office.

"Of course, I want to make sure that you are comfortable. I do not need to sit down or be in an expensive chair to be comfortable," Marcus said with a smile on his face. He gestured for me to sit in his chair again. I gave in and sat down behind the desk with a small huff. Marcus and Aro chuckled at that.

"So, what should we do first?" I ask, knowing that if I don't keep us talking about the main topic, we would quickly get sidetracked, like right before we were testing the bond in the hallway. I had even seen Aro get sidetracked fairly easily. When Edward and I had entered the throne room, he ended up getting sidetracked by how Edward couldn't read my mind instead of staying on the topic of what they were going to do with a human (me) knowing their secret.

When I asked what we should do first, Marcus and Aro both had blank faces for a few seconds before looking at each other. The both of them opened their mouths to talk at the same time. They paused again for a seconds, before Aro spoke.

"I guess we should contact your father."

"Aro, shouldn't we set us a back story about why she is coming here and set it all up before she calls her father?" Marcus asked.

"That is true, but where would we start with that?" Aro responded. The two of them then started to talk about the different ways to get this accomplished. I just sat there and watched as they discussed the pros and cons of the different options. After about a minute of watching their discussion, I got bored with their circular discussions and started to look around. While looking around, I started to get the feeling that something was missing here. After a few seconds, it dawned on me, Caius wasn't here. It just seemed odd that they were here, having this type of discussion without him here. I would have wondered why, but as I saw that the discussion was turning into an argument, I realized why there was always three of them. _Plus, Caius seems like he would be the one to be good at strategy and things like this. I don't know why, but between the way he seemed to be staring calculatingly at me when we first entered the throne room, and how he acted (at least of what I had seen), it was almost like he was planning for the possibilities of what could happen as he found out each new thing about us. The way he acts, just gives off an air similar to a military general or someone like that._

After I realized this, and noticed that the arguing was getting to the angry and shouting stage, I decided that I was going to have to do something. I stood from the chair, not saying a word, and made my way to the door into the hallway. Before I opened the door, I turned back to look at Marcus and Aro to see if they noticed what I was doing. They hadn't, they were still arguing away. I almost started to laugh at how childish they were being at this point. They sounded just like young siblings, arguing with each other. I turned back around, and quietly snuck out into the hallway, closing the door behind me.

"Umm, Jane or Alec, can you hear me?" I asked into the open air, hoping that they would be able to hear me like Aro heard Marcus. Right after I spoke, Alec appeared in front of me.

"You called?"

"Yes, could you go and ask Caius if he would please join me, Marcus, and Aro in Marcus's study? We are in need of his help."

"Of course, is there anything else that you need?"

"May I ask why you are being so nice and helpful to me?" I asked, honestly baffled. _Does he know about me being Marcus's mate, and is being nice to me because of that?_

"It is because you are the mate of King Marcus. That will one day make you our queen," Alec said.

"Oh, well, even so you don't have to go out of your way to be nice to me just because I am the mate of one of your kings. You just met me today."

"I appreciate that, but I would be nice to you regardless for a few reasons."

"What are those reasons?"

"For one, Marcus would be very angry at me if I did not treat you with the proper respect. Secondly, as you are going to one day be our queen, I would rather not make an enemy of you. And lastly, while I am just getting to know you, you have already proven to be worthy of a chance to prove yourself," Alec answered matter of factly.

"How have I proven myself?" I asked, completely baffled at that. All that he had really seen of me was me lying of the floor in pain.

"It was how you handled Edward in the throne room. You were not fooled by him, and even had the courage to put him in his place, even though you were in front of three people that would decide if you lived or died. It was impressive, and I hope that you will continue to prove that you are worthy to be the mate of Master Marcus."

"Oh, thank you. I will do my best to be worthy of being his mate, but I don't know if I could ever be worthy of being the mate of someone like him."

"Just with that statement alone, you have proven that you are more worthy then any of the women that have come here in the past that tried to get him to take them as his queen. Do not doubt yourself so much," Alec said. I just blushed at his statement, still not quite believing him. "I shall go and ask Caius to assist you now," Alec said before disappearing again. I stood in the hallway, and waited to find out if Caius would help us.

Not long after Alec left, Caius appeared in front of me.

"You asked for my assistance?" he asked, staring at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, you see we are having a bit of a problem at the moment," I said. He just continued to stare at me, as if telling me to continue. "Well, we were trying to get it set so that I would be moving here, seeing as I can't be more than a few meters away from Marcus without causing him and myself a lot of pain. The only issue with that, would be where we would start. I wasn't sure, and so I asked them about what to do, and now they are arguing about what should be done first. I thought that you may be able to add your expertise to this issue, and hopefully stop the two of them before they come to blows," I said.

"Well, if Marcus is anything like he was before he got depressed, then the two of them must be arguing like children about this by now."

"Yeah, the childish arguing started right before I left the room to go and get some help," I said with a sigh.

"It is wonderful to know that Marcus is getting back to his old self," Caius stated with a small smile on his face. When I looked at him questioningly, he explained. "Before Marcus became depressed, the two of them used to get into arguments like this every day. I was usually the one that had to break them up, because they would not listen to anyone else," he finished with a sigh.

"So, now that he is getting back to normal, it is likely that he and Aro are going to get into arguments like this daily?" I asked, incredulity filling my voice.

"Yeah, this will most likely be a normal occurrence now," Caius said while shaking his head. _Oh boy, if they are like this all the time, it is going to get pretty interesting around here. I wonder what else may happen now that Marcus is getting back to his old self._

"Well, at least I know that life living here isn't going to be boring."

"Just wait until you find out how true that statement really is," Caius said, almost sounding exasperated. "So, before we go in there and get those two to stop their squabbling, I have a question for you, if you don't mind."

"Sure, ask away, but I do reserve the right to not answer depending " I said, knowing that since we would be living together from now on, it would be good to let him ask whatever questions he had. _Besides I can always tell him that I don't want to answer the question if it is too personal or something, _I thought reassuring myself.

"That sounds fair enough. My question to you is why you thought that I would be able to help you with them and what you meant by my expertise?" he asked, staring intently at me. _Oh, I wasn't expecting those questions. I'm glad that they weren't anything that I couldn't answer. I don't want it to seem like I am hiding something from any of them._

"Well, the reason why I thought you would be able to help with them is really simple. As you are the third king, and have been with them as long as you have, I thought that you might have been in this situation with them before, and know how to handle it. As to what I meant when I said your expertise, I noticed how you sat and how you observed everything. It gave me the impression that you were more of the planner and strategist out of the three of you. I apologize if my assumption is wrong. Even if I am wrong, it could not hurt to have a third opinion in there so that when those two disagree it won't end in an argument again. I do not know enough about the kinds of plans and such that need to be set up for me to move to Volterra to form a proper opinion on most of this," I said. As I spoke, Caius got a shocked look on his face.

"You were able to observe all of that from the short amount of time that you were cognizant of what was going on around you?" he asked, incredulity filling his voice.

"Well, when you move around as much as I did growing up, you learn to read people really well," I said, thinking back to all of the first days of school before Renee settled in Phoenix.

"You moved a lot as a child?" Caius asked, now just sounding curious. I was about to respond to him when all of a sudden there was a dull thud sound from inside Marcus's office. I shot a quick look towards the doors, wondering what in the world could be going on in there.

"Yeah I did. I would be happy to tell you about it later if you would like to hear it, but I do believe we need to stop them if we were able to hear whatever they are doing in there through the soundproof walls," I said, looking at the doors to Marcus's walls with concern.

"I do believe you are right, and I would like to hear more about you once all of this is settled," Caius said before heading towards the doors of Marcus's office. Just as he was about to open it, another thud was heard. Caius closed his eyes and shook his head. Then he seemed to steel himself to whatever he may find inside. I quickly did the same. Then Caius put his hands upon the two very large and heavy looking doors before pushing them open with so much force that the doorknobs became imbedded into the wall. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when the doors were opened.

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><p><strong>AN** – Thank you for reading the new chapter. I hope that you enjoyed it. As always, please hit the button and review. I would love to know what you think, even if it is criticism. I'll post a new chapter in a few days. I have already started on it.


	8. Chapter 8

I am sorry to say, that I am leaving Life's Expectation's up for adoption. I have been having an increasingly difficult time writing the chapters for a while now, and have decided that the story would be better off in someone else's hands. I am sorry that I cannot continue to write it myself, but I did not want to continue to write it and not do the story the justice it deserves.

If anyone is interested in adopting Life's Expectations, then PM me to let me know, and I can send you a link or an email with the document in it.

For whoever does adopt it, if you would like I can stay on to help out with the story when I can, just let me know.

I do have a new story or two that I am planning on putting up soon, though I don't know if I will be doing another Twilight fic anytime soon.

I wish whoever adopts this story good luck, and I wish everyone has a good time reading and writing.

-HaleyD95


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